New member here

[Absmith]

Hey guys,

Name is Aaron and new to the forums.

Wasn't too sure in which topic to post this so I thought i'd do it here. Looking to get a new pc after Chrsitmas, I've already got a quote £2868.33. I just wanted advice on UV and RGB lighting, at the moment, I'm looking to get UV but want your opinions and why? can the led strips damage components etc?

Aaron

 

[Oussebon]

Welcome to the forums

I'd probably go with RGB, as it's more universal and you don't need UV reactive material to get the most of it. No, they don't cause damage. Not unless you disconnect the strips and physically whip the motherboard with them

I'd suggest posting your spec for some feedback - even if you're very happy selecting your own components, there can be some deals squirrelled away on the site or in the configurators that are easy to miss (X component being faster than Y, and also cheaper for reasons unknown, that sort of thing). And I'd recommend waiting until after Christmas to finalise the spec since new hardware comes out all the time and also PCS's stock and availability changes all the time too (cases, mobos, storage, especially can all vary in offerings).

 

[Absmith]

Welcome to the forums

I'd probably go with RGB, as it's more universal and you don't need UV reactive material to get the most of it. No, they don't cause damage. Not unless you disconnect the strips and physically whip the motherboard with them

I'd suggest posting your spec for some feedback - even if you're very happy selecting your own components, there can be some deals squirrelled away on the site or in the configurators that are easy to miss (X component being faster than Y, and also cheaper for reasons unknown, that sort of thing). And I'd recommend waiting until after Christmas to finalise the spec since new hardware comes out all the time and also PCS's stock and availability changes all the time too (cases, mobos, storage, especially can all vary in offerings).

Tank you for your quick response . I'm also on here to gain knowledge as well Please see below my specs.


Case
CORSAIR SPEC-DELTA RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 14 Core Processor i9-9940X (3.3GHz) 19.25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X299-E GAMING: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s, WIFI - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (4 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
11GB ASUS ROG STRIX GEFORCE RTX 2080 Ti - HDMI, DP

Get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with select NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs!
1st Storage Drive
1TB Samsung 860 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Storage Drive
3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND
LED Lighting
2x 50cm UV LED Strip
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

 

[Oussebon]

Oops, my bad, forgot to also suggest you should post what you will be using it for!

Gaming? If so, what monitor and/or VR equipment are you gaming on?

Non-gaming uses? Video editing etc? What software are you using?

 

[Absmith]

Oops, my bad, forgot to also suggest you should post what you will be using it for!

Gaming? If so, what monitor and/or VR equipment are you gaming on?

Non-gaming uses? Video editing etc? What software are you using?

I'll be using it for gaming and still haven't chosen a monitor yet but will be looking in to getting a 4k and as for the VR, I will be purchasing an Oculus Rift.

 

[Oussebon]

If it's for gaming + VR, don't buy any of the CPUs in that configurator, as the i9 CPUs on the Z390 motherboard are just better for gaming. They have more than enough cores, and each core is faster, which is what matters where games care either way. They're also a lot cheaper, as the "Intel Extreme" CPUs (the ones on the X299 platform) are intended for workstations - if you do rendering and animation for a living, that sort of thing.

And as a bonus, the 9940X etc CPUs are about to be replaced with a new lineup this month - a faster and apparently much cheaper one - but the new ones still won't dethrone the 9900k(s) for gaming.

32gb RAM isn't worth buying for gaming, not even from a futureproofing point of view. By the times games could benefit from more than 16gb RAM in the system, the rest of your PC will be obsolete and will be the bottleneck anyway, before RAM quantity is the issue.

The Strix GPUs cost ~£300? more than the 'normal' RTX 2080 tis. You can stick with the regular 2080 ti offering from PCS, or buy and fit your own model that will still cost far less than the Asus. It's known as the 'Asus tax'... The performance between any of them will be near identical, because of how the cards boost themselves.

Making the thing £900 cheaper for the same or better performance. Enough for a 4k 144hz monitor.

 

[Absmith]

If it's for gaming + VR, don't buy any of the CPUs in that configurator, as the i9 CPUs on the Z390 motherboard are just better for gaming. They have more than enough cores, and each core is faster, which is what matters where games care either way. They're also a lot cheaper, as the "Intel Extreme" CPUs (the ones on the X299 platform) are intended for workstations - if you do rendering and animation for a living, that sort of thing.

And as a bonus, the 9940X etc CPUs are about to be replaced with a new lineup this month - a faster and apparently much cheaper one - but the new ones still won't dethrone the 9900k(s) for gaming.

32gb RAM isn't worth buying for gaming, not even from a futureproofing point of view. By the times games could benefit from more than 16gb RAM in the system, the rest of your PC will be obsolete and will be the bottleneck anyway, before RAM quantity is the issue.

The Strix GPUs cost ~£300? more than the 'normal' RTX 2080 tis. You can stick with the regular 2080 ti offering from PCS, or buy and fit your own model that will still cost far less than the Asus. It's known as the 'Asus tax'... The performance between any of them will be near identical, because of how the cards boost themselves.

Making the thing £900 cheaper for the same or better performance. Enough for a 4k 144hz monitor.

So what CPU and Motherboard would you recommend me buying?

And thank you, appreciate the advice.

 

[Oussebon]

If you want the fastest gaming CPU going, the i9 9900k or ks. And depending on the features you want, the Gigabyte AORUS Pro or AORUS Master motherboard.

As above, there's always the chance this could have changed by January. There could be a global shortage of 9900k CPUs. PCS could have stopped selling one motherboard and have a different offering instead.

Case
CORSAIR SPEC-DELTA RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE

Whatever you buy, you'll want a much better case. Cases aren't just about aesthetics, they're about airflow and cooling + cooling options. The front of the Spec Delta is almost solid plastic with only 2 small vents for air, meaning it will not cool powerful components well. A better case like the Corsair 570X is worth buying.

But again, PCS might well have stopped selling both cases in a month's time, and have something else on offer.

 

[Absmith]

Thank you OUSSEBON